Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan sheds tears after completing a century against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final here on Thursday. He got emotional for the second time when he spoke to the media at the end of the play.
Sarfaraz dedicated this innings to his father and Guru Naushad Khan.
“Abbu (father) and I started our cricket journey from scratch. Sapna was to play for Mumbai. Another dream was to score a century in the Ranji Trophy final. So when I reached my century, I got emotional. All the credit goes to Abbu. Nothing would have been possible if he was not around. I have had my tough times, but Abbu has never left my side,” Sarfaraz, who could not control his tears, said.
best innings
“This is my best innings in Ranji Trophy. There are two reasons for this – it was the final, and our team was in a bit of a difficult position. I had to stick around at the crease even if it meant I had to face 300 balls without scoring many runs. I only thought about what the team needed,” Sarfaraz said.
After playing Sarfaraz had a long conversation with the national selector Sunil Joshi. Undoubtedly Joshi must have been impressed by Sarfaraz’s recent form and insatiable hunger for runs.
Asked if he had a call-up for India in his mind, Sarfaraz said, “When I am at the crease, my focus is entirely on batting. The crowd, the live broadcast… nothing matters to me. When it comes to playing for India, every human being has dreams in life. Slowly these dreams come true. I will try my best to make this dream come true.”
The 24-year-old said that his century was a tribute to late rapper Sidhu Moose Wala. Sarfaraz said, “Wherever I go, I listen to his songs a lot.”